My wife got into a car accident a year ago. There was not another car involved and she had no insurance. She does not remember anything that happened from time of the accident to 7 days afterwards. Within that 7 days, they had her sign an agreement to pay the bills for their services. We did not end up getting married until after the accident. To make long story short; I moved her away as soon as she got out of the hospital because of problems with her family. Today she got served with papers ordering her to pay the bills. Up until today she never was informed of the bills. Are there any legal actions she can take? Shouldn't her family be responsible for the bills since they where making her decisions, cause she was not coherent when signing the agreement?
2007-12-31 06:48:11 · 5 answers · asked by sarkazm78 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
If she signed the papers, then her family was not making her decisions. Therefore, your argument about the family being liable for the bills falls apart. And honestly, I don't think they would be liable for them anyway.
As to if she was not competent to sign a contract, you may have an argument there. However, it will be a very difficult case to make and you should consult an attorney.
2007-12-31 06:53:39 · answer #1 · answered by Michael C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, she 'could' argue that she was medically incompetent to sign the agreement to pay when she signed it, but it wouldn't help.
If she was an adult at the time of the accident then she's responsible for her medical bills whether she signed an agreement or not.
If someone is brough to a hospital unconscious and unable to sign anything, do you think that means they don't have to pay their bills?
Richard
2007-12-31 06:58:37 · answer #2 · answered by rickinnocal 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Um- no one but your wife (she was over 18 at the time of the accident) is responsible for her bills.
The only legal action she can take is to pay the debt she owes since it has obviously already gone to collections. Unless she failed to update her billing address- she would have received lots of correspondence from the hospital prior to her debt being turned over to collections.
Your wife is the only person responsible for her bills.
2007-12-31 06:56:53 · answer #3 · answered by tnfarmgirl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on her age at the time probably.
2007-12-31 06:56:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Instead of a long drawn out answer, I'll make this simple... GET A LAWYER.
And no, her family isn't responsible, if she was an adult and signed she's on the hook unless your LAWYER can prove in court she was not in a physical condition to understand what she was signing. And just an FYI, no matter what anyone who was hospitalized with no insurance would know there's bills on the way, no court in the country is going to be sympathetic to her. Where were they being mailed to all this time? If her mother's house was getting the mail, then they knew there were bills due. Ignoring them wasn't a smart thing to do no matter who was getting the mail.
2007-12-31 06:56:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋